righteous, righteousness

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The Greek, Hebrew, and Latin terms that are translated in English mostly as “righteous” as an adjective or personified noun or “righteousness” (also as “justice”) are most commonly expressed with concept of “straightness,” though this may be expressed in a number of ways. (Click or tap here to see the details)

Following is a list of (back-) translations of various languages:

  • Bambara, Southern Bobo Madaré, Chokwe (ululi), Amganad Ifugao, Chol, Eastern Maninkakan, Toraja-Sa’dan, Pamona, Batak Toba, Bilua, Tiv: “be straight”
  • Laka: “follow the straight way” or “to straight-straight” (a reduplicated form for emphasis)
  • Highland Puebla Nahuatl, Kekchí, Muna: “have a straight heart”
  • Kipsigis: “do the truth”
  • Mezquital Otomi: “do according to the truth”
  • Huautla Mazatec: “have truth”
  • Yine: “fulfill what one should do”
  • Indonesian: “be true”
  • Navajo: “do just so”
  • Anuak: “do as it should be”
  • Mossi: “have a white stomach” (see also happiness / joy)
  • Paasaal: “white heart” (source: Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
  • Nuer: “way of right” (“there is a complex concept of “right” vs. ‘left’ in Nuer where ‘right’ indicates that which is masculine, strong, good, and moral, and ‘left’ denotes what is feminine, weak, and sinful (a strictly masculine viewpoint!) The ‘way of right’ is therefore righteousness, but of course women may also attain this way, for the opposition is more classificatory than descriptive.”) (This and all above from Bratcher / Nida except for Bilua: Carl Gross; Tiv: Rob Koops; Muna: René van den Berg)
  • Central Subanen: “wise-good” (source: Robert Brichoux in OPTAT 1988/2, p. 80ff. )
  • Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “live well”
  • Mezquital Otomi: “goodness before the face of God” (source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl: “the result of heart-straightening” (source: Nida 1947, p. 224)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “entirely good” (when referred to God), “do good” or “not be a debtor as God sees one” (when referred to people)
  • Carib: “level”
  • Tzotzil: “straight-hearted”
  • Ojitlán Chinantec: “right and straight”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “walk straight” (source for this and four previous: John Beekman in Notes on Translation November 1964, p. 1-22)
  • Aari: The Pauline word for “righteous” is generally rendered by “makes one without sin” in the Aari, sometimes “before God” is added for clarity. (Source: Loren Bliese)
  • North Alaskan Inupiatun: “having sin taken away” (Source: Nida 1952, p. 144)
  • Nyamwezi: wa lole: “just” or “someone who follows the law of God” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Venda: “nothing wrong, OK” (Source: J.A. van Roy in The Bible Translator 1972, p. 418ff. )
  • Ekari: maakodo bokouto or “enormous truth” (the same word that is also used for “truth“; bokouto — “enormous” — is being used as an attribute for abstract nouns to denote that they are of God [see also here]; source: Marion Doble in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 37ff. ).
  • Guhu-Samane: pobi or “right” (also: “right (side),” “(legal) right,” “straightness,” “correction,” “south,” “possession,” “pertinence,” “kingdom,” “fame,” “information,” or “speech” — “According to [Guhu-Samane] thinking there is a common core of meaning among all these glosses. Even from an English point of view the first five can be seen to be closely related, simply because of their similarity in English. However, from that point the nuances of meaning are not so apparent. They relate in some such a fashion as this: As one faces the morning sun, south lies to the right hand (as north lies to the left); then at one’s right hand are his possessions and whatever pertains to him; thus, a rich man’s many possessions and scope of power and influence is his kingdom; so, the rich and other important people encounter fame; and all of this spreads as information and forms most of the framework of the people’s speech.”) (Source: Ernest Richert in Notes on Translation 1964, p. 11ff.)

See also respectable, righteous, righteous (person), and She is more in the right(eous) than I.

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 13:22

The connector Because introduces this verse as the reason for the result in the next verse. Some languages may prefer to restructure these two verses for naturalness (see the model at the end of the discussion on verse 23).

You have disheartened the righteous falsely …: The role of true prophets was to receive messages from God and pass them on to the people. Sometimes the message was comforting and encouraging, sometimes it was threatening and disheartening. Part of God’s message in the time of Ezekiel was that a person was responsible for his or her own sins. In chapter 3 God said wicked people will die because of their sins, but those who turn away from sin will live (see 3.18-21; compare 18.1-32). The false female prophets were passing on to the people what they claimed to be God’s messages, but God says they were not messages from him. The effect they were having was quite the opposite from the effect a true message would have had. Disheartened is literally “caused pain to the heart,” which may be rendered “discouraged” (New Living Translation, New English Bible) or “made sad.” The pain (which could be physical, mental or emotional) that the righteous people felt was inappropriate and unnecessary because it was due to the lies of the women. For righteous see 3.20; it may be rendered “good” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), “upright” (New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible), “innocent” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), or “honest” (Moffatt). The righteous renders a masculine singular word in Hebrew. As in 3.20, this singular word has an inclusive sense, referring to all good men and women, so it is better to say “righteous people.” The Hebrew word rendered falsely is a noun meaning “falsehood.” Therefore some translations have understood it to be the result of the discouragement of the righteous, that is, the righteous people began to act falsely and sin (so Contemporary English Version). This understanding is not likely. A good model for this clause is “your lies have made honest people feel discouraged” (similarly Good News Translation, New International Version, New Living Translation).

Although I have not disheartened him means the women were acting directly against God’s intention because a true message would have encouraged good people. If the righteous is rendered as a plural, then the pronoun him is better rendered “them” (New Century Version).

And you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his wicked way to save his life: The predictions of the women not only caused distress to the good people in Israel, but they also encouraged the evil people to keep sinning, which led to their deaths. By falsely predicting that Jerusalem was secure against further attack, the women made it possible for wicked people to ignore their own sin because they thought they were safe. Therefore they did not repent and, when God finally punished them, they did not survive. Like the righteous, the wicked renders a masculine singular word in Hebrew, so it may be translated “evil people” (Good News Translation).

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .